Novak Djokovic was pushed to his limits as he progressed to yet another Wimbledon semifinal by beating Flavio Cobolli.
Djokovic dropped the first set during a tie-breaker but came back to break serve at key points in the next three sets to take it in four.
The Serbian has won Wimbledon seven times and now he’s made it through to the last four for a record 14th time on Centre Court.
Djokovic hasn’t played Cobolli on too many occasions and the Italian can take a lot of heart from pushing the seven-time champion all the way in this quarterfinal.
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What really surprised Novak Djokovic about Flavio Cobolli
If Djokovic keeps himself fit, this might be a match-up that the ATP circuit will see much more of.
After an entertaining affair, Djokovic spoke to the Centre Court crowd about his opponent, conceding that one thing really surprised him about his performance.
He said: “Very fresh! No, of course, first I have to say huge congratulations to Flavio for an amazing tournament, but a great battle today. I played him once last year on hard courts; we have practised quite a bit on different surfaces. We have never played on grass. I saw him play here and knew he was playing well but it’s obviously different practising and playing an official match.
“He played at a high level. What surprised me was his serve. I mean, he is serving at a really fast pace and going for his shots. He is such a talented and skilful player. He is definitely one of the guys we will be seeing in the future. I wish him all the best and his team, of course.”
Cobolli can take a lot of heart from this tournament and was brilliant in sending Marin Cilic packing in the last 16.
Djokovic shares how he’s feeling in terms of fitness after beating Flavio Cobolli
There was an eerie hush over Centre Court as Djokovic slipped on match point, with Cobolli catching the net to prolong the match with a lucky winner.
Djokovic almost did the splits and whatever happened, it didn’t look too clever for the serial winner at the All England Club.
The 38-year-old was quizzed on how he’s feeling after the win and it would appear that he will be ready for the semifinal clash with Jannik Sinner.
He said: “I finished the match. It was a nasty slip but that’s what happens when you play on the grass and I didn’t fall so far this year.
“It’s a bit surprising because the way I move on the grass is a lot of sliding and very aggressive movement, you are expected to fall. So it did come at an awkward moment but I managed to find a good serve and close it out.
“I am going to visit this subject now with my physio and hopefully I will be well in a few days.”
The hope will be that Djokovic and Sinner can serve up an absolute classic on Friday and produce one of the tournament’s greatest ever matches.
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